Welsh mythology - a Mithril Wisdom St. David's Day special
Written by Jamie Gibbs
Happy St. David's Day, everyone! And Dydd Dewi Sant hapus to those who siarad Cymraeg!
Happy St. David's Day, everyone! And Dydd Dewi Sant hapus to those who siarad Cymraeg!
To celebrate Wales' national day, here are a few things from Welsh mythology that you can use in your stories.
Llamhigyn y Dwr - The Water Leaper
The Water Leaper is a giant frog with no legs. It has the wings of a bat and the tail of a lizard that has a stinger at the end. It is said to leap out of the water and fly across the surface, and is known for preying on unlucky fishermen.
The Pwca is a dark haired goblin that can change its shape into many creatures, but preferred the shape of a horse. The pwca is more a mischievous spirit than anything else; it can speak to humans but will do them no harm.
Cwm-Annwn - The Hounds of the Underworld
The hounds of the Underworld accompanied the hag Mallt-y-Nos, who hunts for souls to take to the Underworld with her, screaming and shrieking as she goes.
If there are any Welsh bloggers (natives or ex-pats) make yourselves known! I'm always keen to keep track of local bloggers.
If these monsters and creatures are a little too dark for your tastes, then take a look at Archaeo-Awesome's post about three things you didn't know about Welsh history.
I like those! Make for good D&D monsters. Need to go find my Welsh flag I purchased many years ago when visiting Wales.
ReplyDeleteNicely done, Alex! Give it a wave for me :)
Deleteapparantly there was a sighting of a cwn annwn 4 miles from where we live now..... it was outside a pub in Meliden
ReplyDeleteHAPPY sT DAVIDS day to you too
Thanks John :) Kinda scary that there was a sighting closeby though. Be careful out there in the fog ...
DeleteHappy Saint David's Day! Think I'll go read some stories out of the Mabinogion...
ReplyDeleteAn awesome way to celebrate! I think I might do the same!
DeleteHm, those creatures from Welsh mythology are pretty awesome. I actually want to learn how to speak Welsh (I don't know why), but I'm not sure as how to go about it.
ReplyDeleteSiwt mae Charles?! There are plenty of audio courses to learn welsh around... it's a beautiful language!
DeleteLx
It's a noble cause to take up, Charles, and Laura's right. There's a tonne of podcasts for free that help you learn Welsh. Pob lwc :D
DeleteDo you know of any good ones in particular?
DeleteNoswaith da, Jamie!
ReplyDeleteDydd Dewi Sant hapus i chdi hefyd. On i'n arfer byw yng Nheredigion, ond dw'i lawr yn Devon nawr.
Anyway, back to the English. I was obsessed with the Cwn Annwn when I was a kid - and I swear that I met and chatted to a Pwca by the Nant-Cwm-Rhos stream on our farm.
Hope you had a nice day
Lx
Diolch, Laura :)
DeleteIt's good to hear of someone who knows the myths and the folklore. It's a shame that Welsh folklore doesn't get that much of a presence in the bigger world.
How cute is the Pwca, I want one!
ReplyDeleteUniversal Gibberish
I'm sure it'll be a handful with it changing all the time though. One minute a cat, then a dog, then a goblin. What the hell do you feed it?
DeleteThose are fascinating mythological creatures!
ReplyDeleteThere are a great deal more hanging around the country too!
DeleteGreat mythological creatures! I find mythology from any country fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI'm exactly the same - I love reading about myths from different cultures that are similar.
DeleteI live a long way from Wales but my oldest son is named David so I passed this onto him. Love learning of myths and legends.
ReplyDeleteNicely done :) I love comparing myths from different cultures and see how they've influenced eachother.
DeleteHappy National Day! Serbia national day was a few weeks ago too :)
ReplyDeleteYou know how much I love Wales
PS, with the new changes at Blogger which do not connect with Google Plus or something, it has been very difficult finding and reaching your place, Jamie from Blogger :( You don't have a direct link for the blog in the profile anymore.
Thanks Dezzy :)
DeleteThanks for letting me know about the Blogger problems. I'm slowly changing over my bloggy stuff to my proper mithril wisdom account, so I think this is causing the bulk of the problems. CHeers :)
I love Wales. We're supposed to be moving there when the girls leave school. Nice to know there'll be some interesting creatures waiting for me :-)
ReplyDeleteWhoo! Where abouts in Wales are you thinking of going? There'll be plenty of things that go bump in the night for you here :)
DeleteSadly, the parts I'd like to live and the parts we might be able to afford don't coincide - luckily beaches are only a car ride away, right?
Delete100% welsh beef here !!!!
ReplyDeleteIf you sold one of the Cwm Annwn in a kebab shop they'd probably call it Welsh beef :P
Delete